TPA 3116 vs the tripaths

[Mike Stehr]

any suggestions where one can get a decent power supply to get the full benefit from this 3255 amp?

For around 80 bucks or a bit more a guy can build a simple linear supply for 48 volts. I use a combination IEC fuse/switch with a Antek model #4434 power transformer that has 34 volt secondary taps. A high amp fullwave bridge, with two 15,000uF capacitors. It might not be a bad idea to use some sort of drain resistor...The image was in breadboard stage, and the supply is now housed in a case with an umbilical power cord for DC to the amplifier housed in a separate case.

 

[Poultrygeist]

I own omegas and single driver trsnsmission lines so im very familiar with full range singke driver concept and its sound. one could say im on board with the cocept fully.

I've liked every Omega I've heard but my friend sold his to buy my Omens. Go figure.

 

[tyella]

For around 80 bucks or a bit more a guy can build a simple linear supply for 48 volts. I use a combination IEC fuse/switch with a Antek model #4434 power transformer that has 34 volt secondary taps. A high amp fullwave bridge, with two 15,000uF capacitors. It might not be a bad idea to use some sort of drain resistor...The image was in breadboard stage, and the supply is now housed in a case with an umbilical power cord for DC to the amplifier housed in a separate case.

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Wow, that is the definition of not screwing around. Nice job!

 

[HiFiJeff]

I've liked every Omega I've heard but my friend sold his to buy my Omens. Go figure.

The only Omega's I have ever heard were my own 3XRS Supercharged RS5 driver speakers. Absolutely LOVED them! They were an amazing speaker. Can't believe the sound I got from a little 5 inch driver. But the built in 8's added that depth. Anyway. Great company and speaker. But as you know, I too am now an Omen DW owner and am VERY happy.

 

[DaaDaa]

None of us hear alike nor do we always value the same qualities of sound. I once owned these Zu Omens ( like Jeff ). I thought they sounded pretty good until I heard a pair of $100 Betsy drivers mounted on a flat board with pro woofers. With notes floating in space all over the room like a "live" concert I was hooked. Long story short I sold the Omens and started building cheap open baffles. The Zu's have that big room filling sound with nice dynamics and sound stage for a box speaker but lacked detail. If you want to hear spit in Mile's trumpet the big 10" Eminence guitar speaker struggles and the super tweeter comes in so high it's really an afterthought or marketing tool to get folks to accept a full range single driver speaker ( aka 1.5 way ). The fact they didn't work for me for those stated reason doesn't mean they wouldn't work for someone who values different qualities.

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yes the dynamics is their strong suit but thats about it. in addition they were once priced competeitvely for something different and unique but now the druids are like 10k which is a joke for 8-10k you can buy marten design, evlolution, von scheweikert etc which again have superior dynamics. if the speaker is not gonna havethe coherency and immedieacy of full range then why bother? just buy 3 way and they will rock

 

[HiFiJeff]

yes the dynamics is their strong suit but thats about it. in addition they were once priced competeitvely for something different and unique but now the druids are like 10k which is a joke for 8-10k you can buy marten design, evlolution, von scheweikert etc which again have superior dynamics. if the speaker is not gonna havethe coherency and immedieacy of full range then why bother? just buy 3 way and they will rock

I will get into this a little more when I have some time. But yeah, I think a lot of what they offer are really expensive. And I have heard their displays plenty of times at RMAF. Not all the ZU's displays have wowed me over. I remember a couple of years ago at RMAF, it wasn't even ZU's main room, it was another company using the ZU's but I was like this sounds terrible. I don't know what speaker it was but I left the room seriously unimpressed. But I have also been blown away by some of the displays I have heard with ZU. Different electronics, rooms, speakers, I don't know but there are a lot of things I have heard them do great. The Dirty Weekends are a different speaker and sure different than the review of the Essence by Noaudiophile.com. I have even been told that the Dirty Weekends are kind of in their own class. And at $999, to me it's a bargain. I don't think that there is such thing as a perfect speaker. Obviously, or I wouldn't have gone through 5 pairs of speakers in a 5 year period. But I really enjoy the ZU's as a whole package type of speaker. In my opinion they do everything really good. Are they the last word in resolve and detail? No, I have heard better. But it's not like they are bad at it either or are veiled by any means. They are fun, lively and dynamic. They make listening to music fun and enjoyable. And they can play anything I can throw at them with ease. They don't struggle with any genre of music. I wish I could have a system in every room of my house and every system would be different. But I don't and I need one system that can meet ALL my needs.

 

[Pio1980]

yes the dynamics is their strong suit but thats about it. in addition they were once priced competeitvely for something different and unique but now the druids are like 10k which is a joke for 8-10k you can buy marten design, evlolution, von scheweikert etc which again have superior dynamics. if the speaker is not gonna havethe coherency and immedieacy of full range then why bother? just buy 3 way and they will rock

3-ways, and a beefy amp to push them. Typical 3-ways aren't SE tube efficient.

 

[HiFiJeff]

I am a snowboarder and have used this comparison before. I have the luxury of being able to bring 3 different boards up to the mountain. You have your big powder days board, your crappy, icy days snowboard and your great all conditions ride everywhere snowboard. AKA all mountain do everything board. The ZU's are my all mountain speaker. They do it all really good. And Dadbeh, have you heard the DW's? If you haven't then you can't say all they do well is just dynamics because that's just not true at all. You are simply speculating based upon one review from 10 years ago. I am sure there are plenty of owners or people who have heard the Essence that would disagree with his findings .

 

[fredgarvin]

I am a snowboarder and have used this comparison before. I have the luxury of being able to bring 3 different boards up to the mountain. You have your big powder days board, your crappy, icy days snowboard and your great all conditions ride everywhere snowboard. AKA all mountain do everything board. The ZU's are my all mountain speaker. They do it all really good. And Dadbeh, have you heard the DW's? If you haven't then you can't say all they do well is just dynamics because that's just not true at all. You are simply speculating based upon one review from 10 years ago. I am sure there are plenty of owners or people who have heard the Essence that would disagree with his findings .

I read several reports over time that the Omens sound better than the Essence, complaints about the ribbon tweeter not integrated properly. I'm sure some people prefer the Essence.

 

[HiFiJeff]

I read several reports over time that the Omens sound better than the Essence, complaints about the ribbon tweeter not integrated properly. I'm sure some people prefer the Essence.

I have read that too. I have also read and been that the Omen MKII's are significantly better than the MKI's. So Poultrygeist, you might have had the MKI's. I know it's still the same type of speaker but with improvements over what you remember. But I have heard, once you go OB, you don't go back. LOL

 

[HiFiJeff]

yes the dynamics is their strong suit but thats about it. in addition they were once priced competeitvely for something different and unique but now the druids are like 10k which is a joke for 8-10k you can buy marten design, evlolution, von scheweikert etc which again have superior dynamics. if the speaker is not gonna havethe coherency and immedieacy of full range then why bother? just buy 3 way and they will rock

My ZU DW's have both coherency and immediacy. To my ears, they are lightning quick. As quick as Louis's RS5 driver? Of course not but still very quick, a lot quicker than most drivers out there. Curious, what Omega's do you own? I truly miss my Omega/Decware combo. It was pure magic together. Some of the best pure sound quality I have ever heard, but that system had it's limits and glaring weaknesses. And I wasn't willing to live with those for my main system.

 

[HiFiJeff]

A few weeks ago you told us how your AV receiver destroyed the Volt+.

And I was quick to admit that I was wrong. I got all geeked up about it playing movies and so on. And as for home theater purposes, it was better than the Volt. When I got over the initial hype of the new AVR, I quickly came back to reality and did some comparisons again in two channel and of course the Volt was much, much better.

9 Days later and with some more critical listening over the weekend. I have no regrets at all selling off the Volt+ and buying the NuForce STA-200. I found that the Volt+ is a little more SET, tube sounding with more resolution and delicacy of details than that of the STA-200. But the STA-200 seems to really awaken my ZU's in a way that the Volt+ didn't. More dynamics, more punchy but still audiophile sound. Huge soundstage but pinpoint imaging and the way sounds move around on the soundstage is pretty impressive. But the ZU's seem to love power. It seems that the bass is a lot more controlled with the STA-200. I like the Volt+. I really do, but I like the STA-200 more. Heck, what I am going to do, is buy the Volt+D and swap it in and out of my system. I want to see how much better the D version is over the normal Volt. Plus I can always move the ZU's to the living room and combo the Volt+D with some Betsy OB's.
I know you wouldn't discourage me from that. LOL
Maybe I can have the best of both worlds.

 

[HiFiJeff]

None of us hear alike nor do we always value the same qualities of sound. I once owned these Zu Omens ( like Jeff ). I thought they sounded pretty good until I heard a pair of $100 Betsy drivers mounted on a flat board with pro woofers. With notes floating in space all over the room like a "live" concert I was hooked. Long story short I sold the Omens and started building cheap open baffles. The Zu's have that big room filling sound with nice dynamics and sound stage for a box speaker but lacked detail. If you want to hear spit in Mile's trumpet the big 10" Eminence guitar speaker struggles and the super tweeter comes in so high it's really an afterthought or marketing tool to get folks to accept a full range single driver speaker ( aka 1.5 way ). The fact they didn't work for me for those stated reason doesn't mean they wouldn't work for someone who values different qualities.

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That's so very true. This hobby is so subjective. What one loves, others might be like, this guy should have his hearing checked. But for the most part, I think a lot of us are on the same page. But can one system give us everything we want? I can't attest to your OB Volt+D system because I have never heard it, but I am going to assume that if I played Metallica, Bauhaus NIN, Ministry or Skinny Puppy at higher volumes, the ZU/NuForce system might be the better choice. Just like I found with the Omega/Decware combo. It just couldn't keep up and sounded, distorted, compressed and downright terrible at times. But I haven't got the ZU/NuForce combo to come close to it's limits. My hearing and ears give out first. Now don't get it twisted either. It's not about sheer volume and how loud the system can play. Heck, I can go buy a pair of JBL's or Klipsch's and get pure volume and loudness. It's the intricacy and composure it does so with. It still sounds great, the sound quality is off the charts good. I don't hear distortion, the soundstage and imaging remains, it doesn't compress or fall apart. It's crystal clear. And individual instruments stay individual, they don't smear together in a mess unless that's what the artist wanted. And the immediacy and sheer attack and decay of snare and kick drums is startling. I have been to a lot of concerts, and know what a kick drum sounds and feels like live, and the ZU's and NuForce do it. But then what I like about this combo, is I can go from extreme music like that to Eva Cassidy and female vocals. Then I can play an acoustic song from Tom Morello and it's like he is standing there in the room with me. Is it as good as the Volt+ and some OB's, or the Decware Omega combo? Probably not but still pretty darn good.

You are also correct, I lose some detail and resolve with this combo of mine. And I mean a small amount. I wouldn't say that the ZU's are veiled in any way. In fact I find them pretty detailed. I am hearing things in music that I didn't know was there. They just aren't as resolving and are not going to bring out every little minute detail in a recording as some others. I find the highs pretty neutral. It's not as detailed as the Omega/Decware combo I had. Do I miss that? Yes, of course I do. But the trade offs with my musical tastes are worth it. And once again, it's not like this combo is bad at detail and resolve because it's not at all, it's just not as good as others. I don't know about the spit in Miles trumpet, I will go home and play some Miles tonight.

 

[HiFiJeff]

I'm glad to hear that you found an amp that you're enjoying more. I did want to ask if you're volume matching between the 2 amps. For a-b testing, anything that plays louder tends to sound a lot better, at least initially. The louder amp will always sound more dynamic, more open, and livelier. If you went to a store and compared Quads to Klipschorns with the same amp at the same setting, your first impression would be that the Klipschorns had more detail, were more fun to listen to. This would especially be true if you're listening to 9 Inch Nails. fwiw, I suspect many people who listen to 9 Inch Nails want more absolute volume and a sense of the beat.

I suspect a 10" full range speaker, even a very efficient one, might not be the best match for what the Volt+ does well, especially if you're looking to rock out (you're still trying to control a pretty big magnet). Given your taste in music and choice of speakers, I'm pretty sure you're making the right choice with the nuforce. For your preferences, even with your very efficient speakers, I think class a/b is the way to go unless you can afford high power true class A.

My take is that the Volt+ is really more for folks who like SETs. They have bass, but I've never thought they do "Slam" very well. They also tend to be most magical in the midrange. I also don't think that's where a 10" full range is going to excel, though I'm sure the people at Zu will disagree with me. It's also the reason I listen to more rock and full orchestra when I switch from the Volt+D to the TPA 3255. and more chamber music, folk, and small group jazz with the Volt+D.

Probably the best explanation and most intelligent response I have gotten so far. You kind of took the thoughts right out of my mind.
Of course the STA-200 is going to play louder, have more headroom and be more dynamic than the Volt. That goes without saying. But after the initial wow factor wore off. I went back and listened to it just to critique sound quality. But my point is that the sound quality is also present in spades. It's not just about sheer volume, it's still about sound quality played at dynamic loud levels. I like the fact that the beat, and dynamics are there and that it pressurizes my room with lively dynamic sound but still maintains all it's composure and doesn't fall apart or distort.

And as far as your thoughts on the 10" full range driver even being efficient but not a best match for the Volt. I strongly concur. The NuForce seems to handle and control the 10" driver and in particular the bass and slam more than the Volt+ could. They just respond different with more power. The way in which bass notes hit in my room is literally startling. I didn't get that with the Volt+. I ma not talking sloppy, boomy bass. Tight, articulate fast attack and decay bass. It sounds like a real drum set in my room. I haven't found a lot of combos that do that well with concert like levels of volume.

And once again, concur with your thoughts about the Volt+ being more SET like. Still better power bass and control than my SET Decware SE84UFO but not quit up to Class A/B 80watts per channel slam. The Volt+ did bass good, but it doesn't control it the way the NuForce does. It's like comparing normal subs to servo controlled subs. The bass stops and starts on a dime, when the NuForce tells it to. But here is where we are going to disagree. What I love about my set up, is female vocals are goose bump inspiring. That midrange is spectacular. I listened to a lot of Eva Cassidy, Holly Cole, Rebecca Pidgeon and Diana Krall yesterday, and they all sounded phenomenal.

I think we all have our priorities and musical tastes. I am not blindly out there just saying buy this or buy that based upon my personal tastes. If you were to tell me that you like just vocals and acoustics at low to moderate levels. I wouldn't suggest the system I have, Omega, Decware, Betsy OB's SET amps or Volt+ would be a good fit.

But if you like EVERYTHING and your musical tastes vary like mine do and play anywhere from low volumes all the way to concert volume levels and want impact and slam but musicality and accuracy, and want an all in one system that in my opinion does it all very well and excels in a lot of areas. I stand behind what I say. The system I have now is the best system I have ever owned to fit all my needs. Is it perfect, hell no, but it's as perfect as I need it to be.

 

[Pio1980]

A good powerful class AB amp really lights up my experimental system with the Advent 2 Econowaves, but finding the precision of the Allo Volt+D on them isn't so easy.

 

[fsdaron]

Can the Volt+ drive 4 ohm speakers

 

[airbus]

Can the Volt+ drive 4 ohm speakers

It should be fine with 4 ohm speakers, so long as they're reasonably efficient and the impedance doesn't have some huge dip.

 

[Samokan]

A good powerful class AB amp really lights up my experimental system with the Advent 2 Econowaves, but finding the precision of the Allo Volt+D on them isn't so easy.

I love the way you succinctly express my words in brevity and in accuracy.

 

[59volvo]

I'm planning on getting the meanwell 48v power supply to go with the tpa3255. anyone know if the meanwells come with the power cords to plug into the wall and into the tpa3255 or if you have to get those seperately? If I have to get them - anyone can include a part number/link to where I can get? TIA!

 

[Ytheleus1212]

I'm planning on getting the meanwell 48v power supply to go with the tpa3255. anyone know if the meanwells come with the power cords to plug into the wall and into the tpa3255 or if you have to get those seperately? If I have to get them - anyone can include a part number/link to where I can get? TIA!

I've not seen cables included with this kind of supply, so unless you know otherwise I expect you need to provide your own.
So 2 sets of cables.
1) Mains 3-wire cable, a 3 pin mains connector at one end with bare wires or crimped terminal connectors at the other end. Maybe recycle old 3-wire mains cables, or you can just order a few metres of new standard 5A-ish mains cable and fit a mains plug onto it, or cut the end connector off a PC mains lead, I always have some of those hanging about.
2) DC 50V cable, I used quite ordinary silicone 14 AWG ebay cable I think, black and red colours for DC- and DC+ respectively, there's no harm in overkill here but 16 AWG would probably be indistinguishable. You could almost certainly get suitable cable by dismantling part of your mains cable if you don't mind the non-standard colours.

The wires just need to be thick enough to carry the maximum rated current, so any 5A or more mains cable will cover it easily (assuming 350W), and ideally 12/14 AWG DC cable for the link to the amp. Maybe add crimp terminals as appropriate when you finalise the layout. But the terminals on the PSU will accept bare wires quite securely. If you don't have one, this is your big opportunity to buy a wire stripper.

Note: with these supplies, if you want DC ground to connect to mains earth, often a good idea for electrical safety and rarely a bad idea, you should put a short patch connector/wire between the mains earth terminal and one of the the DC- terminals. This connects your amp DC circuits directly to safety ground.